Although much is known about the glycolipids of gastric mucosa, until now, no information was available on gastric secretion. The data from our laboratory on composition of gastric secretion of man, dog and rat have established that lipids constitute 23-30% of its dry weight. Of the lipid portion, 30-35% are glycolipids. We have shown that these glycolips are composed of monoalkylmonoacylglycerol lipid core and of variable number of glucose residues, some of which are sulfated. The specific goals of the proposed research are: to characterize the glyceroglucolipids of gastric secretion of serval species; to determine which area or areas of the stomach elaborate these compounds; to study the subcellular distribution of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of glyceroglucolipids; to determine the steps involved in their biosynthesis; to gain knowlege on the composition and levels of glyceroglucolipids in the normal gastric secretion and in the secretion of patients with gastric pathology. The surplus of gastric secretion obtained during routine gastric analysis from man and also from dog and rat will be used to study the chemistry of glyceroglucolipids. Subcellular fractionation of gastric mucosa from rat and dog will be performed to establish the location of enzymes and the steps involved in biosynthesis of these compounds. The qualitative and quantitative data on glyceroglucolipids in gastric secretion of patients with stomach pathology will be compared with those of normal individuals.